In an individual performance that surprised nobody, Green Bay Packers defensive end Rashan Gary produced another dud. It continued a less-than-optimal stretch in which Gary has gone nine weeks without registering a sack or tackle for loss.
Gary was one of the most outspoken players in an effort to rally the troops after Micah Parsons‘ season-ending injury. He hasn’t backed it up in the slightest.
Jeff Hafley tried cushioning the blow earlier in December when he was peppered with questions about Gary’s lack of production. Hafley took the high road and pivoted to a different aspect of Gary’s game, one that is now in serious doubt as well.
Again, and I say this truthfully, Rashan is playing the run game — and I know you don’t want to hear about the run right now — Rashan is playing the run game way better than he did last year, in my opinion. All right? We’re not getting many drop-back passes. We’re getting seven-man, six-man play-action protections, where it’s about rushing and converting. And a lot of times you’ve got a tight end and a tackle on you, you’ve got a tackle and a [running] back on you.
It was admirable of Hafley to do this, but the writing was on the wall. Gary wasn’t producing with Parsons healthy and on the field. Did anybody really expect it to magically get better without Parsons?
Gary tried assuring just that, following the loss to Denver in the game that ended Parsons’ season.
I told him to keep his head up and we’re gonna finish strong for him. That’s what I told him. I’m gonna keep in contact with him throughout what he’s doing. That was my first message to him. It hurt. It hurt. … We can still write our story. Guys that’s been out the season – Tuck, D-Wy, (Parsons) – are going to be a reason why we’re going to finish strong, keeping those guys in mind.
To Gary’s credit, as a captain and vocal leader of the team, it was fine seeing him speak with confidence. He just hasn’t backed up his words with his play.
Giving up 307 rushing yards to the Ravens, including 216 to Derrick Henry alone, didn’t inspire confidence. Gary was even benched if you look at the snap-count totals.
Green Bay’s seventh-year defensive lineman played just 34 snaps, or 45%, his lowest percentage all season. Of the 34, almost every single one felt ineffective. Conversely, Kingsley Enagbare played 79% of the snaps against the Ravens while Lukas Van Ness was out there for 62% of the total.
And, looking ahead at Green Bay’s immediate future, it isn’t going to get any easier for Gary to live up to his word.
The overwhelming odds are that the Packers will face the Chicago Bears or Philadelphia Eagles on Wild Card Weekend. Chicago’s rushing offense averaged 5.8 yards per carry against Green Bay in the most recent matchup. It’s a Bears offense that ranks No. 1 in the NFL in rushing yards per game.
If they don’t play Chicago, it’ll likely be the Eagles. Philadelphia’s ground game is in the middle of the pack, league-wide. However, entering their game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, the Eagles were No. 3 in the NFL in the last three weeks, averaging 157.3 rushing yards per game. Running back Saquon Barkley had one 100-yard rushing game on the season before eclipsing that total in two of the last four weeks.
In other words, a Packers run defense that Baltimore gashed and looks to be hanging on by a thread will get a less-than-favorable matchup to start the postseason. Gary, who isn’t being relied upon at this point, is going to find it next to impossible to back up his words following the Parsons injury.
Nobody should blame Gary for trying to inject some faith in his teammates and the fanbase after the loss to Denver. And the Baltimore game was an indictment of the entire unit, not just the run defense. The run defense was, by far, the worst of all the problems.
Gary likely played his last game in a Packers uniform at Lambeau Field on Saturday, unless Green Bay’s front office is somehow hypnotized into believing his $18 million salary is worth it in 2026.
It’s not the ending anybody wanted to see. However, it felt somewhat predictable after Parsons went down. There’s still time for the Packers to right the ship, but let’s be honest: Any dreams of a Super Bowl feel 99.9% washed away.
